Inglorious Basterds
Right, so i went and saw Inglorious Basterds today. I watched Friday Night with Jonathan Ross about a month ago featuring Mr. Tarantino, and he was plugging this film, so i thought, i like Brad Pitt, I like Quentin Tarantino and his wacky action packed films, i will see that when it comes out.
So with my lovely girlfriend, i went and saw it. Orange wednesday, awesome. Nobody in the cinema, awesome, no idiots to disturb like when i saw Harry Potter 6… So i start watching it. And the first scene is half an hour long, or what seemed like that long, basically ending up with a smarmy Nazi thinking he can shoot so far with a Luger and realising he cant, and therefore starting our incredibly long winded story with an escaping Jew.
ESSENTIALLY, my complaints about this film are media related, i.e. the fact that it is advertised as an action film, all the trailers use up basically all the violent scenes from the film to make them appealing, and yet, save for the last half an hour, there are maybe 5-10 minutes of violence in the film. That is less than 10% of the first 2 hours as violence in any form. I would expect an action film to provide at least 25% violence/action in 2 hours. This meant i was relatively bored for a long time, other than the cringing of knife meeting forehead or bat meeting ear, and thus uncomfortable while realising the film wasnt going anywhere fast. The bits i remember liking are: the chinese guy from Not Another Teen Movie makes an appearance as a Basterd, the German guy wields an MG42, [spoiler alert] Brad Pitt NOT dying, the jew bear being revealed and the cinema bit.
The film is well directed in my opinion, given my limited film expertise, and the casting is more or less perfect, especially with Goebbels actually looking like Goebbels, (but the caped Hitler was a bit excessive), and the bit in britain with a 5 miunte cameo role from Mike Myers was ridiculously stereotypical and scenes were just ridiculously extended. I think QT did his own editing and thought everything in a few scenes were so brilliant they shouldnt be edited out…
In conclusion, i felt that the film was one massive backround story building up to the last half an hour punch up. Now you may say that this is the way films are structured and thats they way they have always been, but this felt rushed, as if the last half an hour had been the only edited part and it was just made so short to fit into the acceptable length of a regular big Hollywood film. It was like a big sneeze, or sex. A big build up where not much happens, and then everything happens all at once at the end and when its all over, you feel exhausted, relieved and staisfied.
i would say 5/10. Make it an hour shorter and change the trailer and it may get a 7.
NK
